Old beginnings

Today was a good day for old beginnings. I know that might sound like an oxymoron but it truly is a day of old beginnings for me. 1) I have been lazy and frustrated for not getting up and going to the gym for the past 2 weeks straight and it was eating at me. 2) I had coffee with a friend who I haven’t talked to in a long time, and I need that time with him. He is encouraging and open minded to what it truly looks like to reach out in the name of the gospel and sees the church as something greater than a building or a campus of people. New beginnings take some time to start and they feel fresh, but continuing with something that you have been failing at is harder. At least it is for me, because it isn’t starting a new thing but continuing to pursue something that you already have experienced failure in.

I don’t know about you but I have had quite a bit of failure in my life and it can be discouraging. When I was speaking yesterday, I was teaching in a series for MOVE students called Base Camp. Learning the basics of life with Jesus and man has the teaching been some of the hardest messages I have ever written. Also trying to communicate the necessary info in less than 20 min each week, That is hard! I was good at that once, but you know me, I like to talk. However, talking a lot doesn’t mean you’re a good communicator, it just means you like to talk. Good communicators; communicate effectively, passionately, and are relatable when they speak. No one wants to here a ramble (which sounds a lot like my writing), they want to hear genuine wisdom and teaching from the heart, that is applicable. Tangent…. Sorry.

So as I was teaching from the platform in MOVE, God spoke to my heart as I was reading Romans 8:35-39. The part of it that says in verse 37, No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Just absolutely spoke to my insecurities and struggle of being captive by my own failure. As I was teaching God spoke right to my heart and said, “Son you are more than a conqueror. Exercising will prolong my ability to move you and prepare you to continue the good work you will be doing in the future. Don’t stay down. You’re telling them to get up and not be captive to failure; don’t let it hold you captive either.” One of my original thoughts was, “What a hypocrite.” But as I continued throughout the day and into this morning, God continued to affirm in me that I was being a hypocrite, because I recognized the change that needed to happen, was obedient and took action.

The more and more that I pursue Jesus through the Bible, the more and more I understand him and the purpose for my life. Do I understand all of it and does all if it make 100% sense to me? No. That’s ok with me. That’s where faith comes in. I am just grateful that Jesus has given me this opportunity, really these opportunities to be a tool for his good work. How mind-boggling creation and everything is, and that is what encourages me to dig in, want more, learn each and every day.

So at the end of this all, not only do I learn more and more about who Jesus is but I also learn more and more about how I, his servant, his child, can be an example to those around of what he wants for us. I am humbled each time God brings me to this place of discovery and makes me wonder about all of the things He is doing, and continues to make me want to dig.

I just hope that I communicate all of these things efficiently and effectively to the people that I am leading, so that they will see Jesus and dig in too. Failure is not my king. Failure is not our king. Failure will not hold me captive. I chose today and pray that God gives me the courage to continue to choose VICTORY over failure each and every day. Failures just lead us to place where we can succeed, so I will keep aiming high, failing big, and succeeding in victory with Jesus.